


Fathers and Uncles

by Blue_Lacquer



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Family, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 22:04:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3666891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Lacquer/pseuds/Blue_Lacquer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A pair of unusual visitors arrives at the Northern Air Temple, and the Mechanist finds he has more in common with one of them than he would have imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fathers and Uncles

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for [](http://story-lottery.livejournal.com/profile)[story_lottery](http://story-lottery.livejournal.com/) and posted on livejournal.

The Mechanist pulled the lever to bring the elevated platform up to his laboratory, as he had countless times since he started designing weapons for the Fire Nation. In those eight years, he had never seen anyone from the Fire Nation other than War Minister Ching. It was Ching who kept watch on him, and Ching who would order an attack on the Northern Air Temple if he ever failed to deliver new technology the Fire Nation wanted.

But it was not Ching who was riding up to the Temple now. The Mechanist did not understand what he had done wrong to warrant a visit from the Dragon of the West. He was working as fast as he could on his new project, a drill that would penetrate the great walls of Ba Sing Se, but such a machine was vastly complicated, and he needed time. There were so many moving parts in it, it was like a city in itself. If everything was not precisely right, the drill could collapse or explode, injuring the operators. As much as he hated the war, he did not wish harm to come to any of the soldiers using his machines through his negligence. And if the Fire Nation ever suspected sabotage, the Temple would be destroyed.

The platform was rising more slowly than usual today, seeming to struggle up the last, steepest stage of the climb, past the lower turrets lined with what used to be private cells for the Air Nomad monks. He decided to inspect the system later. The trap door in the floor lifted up, signaling the arrival of his visitor, and he took a deep breath, willing himself to remain calm. He had his initial design, which was proof he was making progress, but he wondered how much the General understood about the process of invention. For every breakthrough that people would call brilliant, there were a hundred failed ideas. He wished he knew exactly what General Iroh wanted. The man had come closer to capturing Ba Sing Se than anyone else in history. Perhaps this was a personal visit rather than an official one. He may simply want to see the technology that would finally allow the Fire Nation to conquer the city for himself. Or he may want to lead the invasion himself. Whatever the General's plans were, the Mechanist prayed the Temple would be left in peace.

The Mechanist was surprised to see _two_ people emerge through the floor into his laboratory. One was a gray-haired, surprisingly short and round man, older than the Mechanist by fifteen or twenty years, who blinked and looked about the lab with curious eyes. The other was a boy only a few years older than Teo, bald except for a tall dark topknot, who scowled as though everything he saw did him some kind of personal injury. Most of the left side of the boy's face was scarred--it looked like a burn.

Before the Mechanist could speak, the boy snarled, "I'm here to look for the Avatar. Stay out of my way, and we won't have any problems."

The man clasped the boy's shoulder, and said, "Please excuse my nephew. Young people are always so eager to get straight to business. I am General Iroh--although I am retired now--and this is His Highness Prince Zuko."

The Mechanist blinked in surprise--he really did not understand what the doodle was going on now. The General visiting was odd, but bringing along a child from the Fire Nation royal household was unfathomable. He bowed awkwardly, certain he was about to be chastised for violating some royal protocol, and said, "I am the Mechanist, Your Highness."

"That is an unusual name," General Iroh said.

"It's what everyone has called me since I was a young man." He hesitated, then added, "Um, General sir, I received your message, but I'm afraid I don't quite understand why you have come. I showed my latest work to Minister Ching recently."

The General smiled, a surprisingly warm expression, very unlike the Minister's sharkish grin. "There's no need to call me 'sir.' We are both of an age, aren't we?" General Iroh moved off of the elevated platform, nudging his nephew to come with him. "We're not here to see your projects. Although, if you would be willing to show me some of what you do, I would be pleased. You have some very interesting _things_ in here." He glanced at the odds and ends piled on the work bench: metal scraps, gears, springs, wrenches and a small welding torch. "We saw the people on the winged gliding devices while we were down on the plateau, and it was an amazing sight. But our purpose here is to tour the Temple."

"We're here for the Avatar," the boy said. The eye that wasn't occluded by scar tissue narrowed. "Are you hiding any air benders here?"

"The Air Nomads are all dead," the Mechanist replied, incredulous. Everyone knew the Air Nomads were dead. "This Temple was in ruins when we arrived. Of course there aren't any air benders here." The Prince looked at him sharply, and he quickly added, "Your Highness."

The boy asked suspiciously, "Why did you come here?"

"We were refugees. My home was destroyed by a great flood, and when I came across this place, I was fascinated by the paintings of people flying and decided to stay. I believed the Temple would inspire me to new inventions." He did not add that he had also thought his son would be safe from the war here.

The Prince ordered, "We need to see the Temple and everything you've found in it now."

The Mechanist rubbed his head. He would rather the General were yelling at him for not having the plans for the drill done yet. He did not want Fire Nation people walking around where everyone could see them. He had constructed the elaborate, hidden moving platform to his laboratory so he could keep Minister Ching's visits secret. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you've come all this way for nothing, if you're looking for the Avatar. We've gone over every inch of this place--the library, the ceremonial chambers, every monk's cell. There's nothing to find."

"We will judge that for ourselves," the boy said, crossing his arms over his chest.

The General said, "We will not disturb anyone, or your work. We have searched the other Air Temples, and it would set my nephew's mind at ease to search this one as well."

The prince scowled even more at that remark, and said, "If you have nothing to hide, you won't mind us looking around."

The Mechanist did have something to hide, just not from them. He held out his hands. "Even the Air Nomad's records are all gone. The only thing left are the statues and wall paintings, and those have been damaged by the weather over time."

The boy took a step toward him, hands closed into fists and a harshness more suited to a grown man in his eyes. The General touched his nephew's elbow and said, "Prince Zuko, did you bring up the sketches of the symbols carved into the other Air Temples?"

"Why do we need those?"

"We can compare the symbols from all four temples now. If there is some kind of code in them, we can decipher it."

The boy looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Go get them, Uncle. I have questions I want to ask this Mechanist."

General Iroh smiled again. "I'm afraid I'm becoming forgetful in my old age, Nephew. I don't remember where they are."

"They're in--" The boy saw his uncle's distracted expression as the man studied the time candle on the Mechanist's desk, and gave up. "Oh, never mind. It'll be quicker to get them myself. I knew we should have brought some of the men up with us."

"The platform only holds so much weight," General Iroh said. "Myself and you and another would have overburdened it."

"I'll be back soon," the prince said, scowling at the Mechanist again. "Whatever there is to find in this place, I _will_ find it."

When the trapdoor had closed over the boy's tall hair, the General asked, "Why do you not want us to see what is in the Temple?" His tone and expression were not hostile, but something in them promised that dishonesty would be swiftly and severely punished.

The Mechanist clasped his hands together. "It's not that! I don't care what you see. I just don't want anyone else seeing _you_."

"Ah. The people here don't know you work for the Fire Nation?"

"No."

"Why do you hide it?"

The Mechanist sighed. "My whole life I've invented things. It's my passion. I love creating new things, even when they blow up in my face. I want to make things that will help people, that will amaze them, let them do the impossible--like the gliders. People can fly because of my work! It's hard to describe the feeling, knowing you've done something like that." He slipped off his monocle and cleaned it with his apron, trying to think of a way to explain so the General would understand, and not be offended.

General Iroh said, "And now the things you create are used for destruction."

He looked at the old man's face, surprised. The Mechanist expected him to add _But it's all for the sake of the Fire Nation winning the war, and civilizing the rest of the world. Superior technology will help us win quicker, and save lives on all sides in the long run, don't you understand?_ Ching had often reminded him of that. But the General said nothing more.

"I've always been a peaceful man, General. I don't like fighting."

General Iroh picked up a long coiled spring from the work bench and stretched it out between his hands. He asked, "What is this for?"

"Oh! That's a neat little thing I came up with just a few weeks ago, when I was experimenting with metal alloys. Let me show you how it works."

The Mechanist took the spring, and set one end down on the bench, the other on the chair in front of the bench. The upper end of the spring whipped over the lower end, and landed on the floor. The spring traveled end over end across the floor for a few feet until coming to a halt.

The General laughed, a sound of genuine mirth. "It does somersaults."

"If you put it on stairs, it'll go all the way down. My son's been playing with it, so I'm making more for the other kids. I call it the Springy."

"A fine name." General Iroh picked the Springy back up and set it on the work bench. "How old is your son?"

"He's ten."

"Do you have other children?"

"No."

General Iroh ran his fingers around the edge of the work bench and said, "Your son doesn't know that you make machines for war either, does he?"

The Mechanist shook his head. "If he ever found out…He would be so angry at me. I came very close to losing him when he was a baby. He was badly injured when our home was destroyed, and hasn't been able to walk since."

General Iroh said quietly, "But he is still alive."

"I thank the spirits for that. He has a good life here, he has so many friends, and he's happy. I made him a glider chair so he can fly with the others. Not being able to walk doesn't seem to trouble him much, really." The Mechanist re-arranged some of the objects on his work bench, considering his words. "But I should have protected him. I shouldn't have let him get hurt. Making weapons, knowing that my creations are being used to hurt people--it feels like failing him all over again."

The General looked distant and sorrowful as he said, "I know there is nothing to be found at this Temple, but I am searching because of my nephew. He has recently suffered a severe injury himself, and lost his home, and I'm afraid that the possibility of finding the Avatar is the only thing that gives him any peace."

The two men looked in each other's eyes for a moment, and the Mechanist realized that this stranger, this Fire Nation man, truly had been cursed in the same way--to watch a child he loved suffer while being unable to stop the pain.

General Iroh shook off whatever dark thoughts he was having, and said, "I believe we can find a solution that will suit both of us."

The Mechanist was wary at these words. Just because he and the General had suffering in common didn't mean the man wouldn't try to take advantage of him. "What do you propose?"

Smiling faintly, the General said, "Between the two of us clever old men, I believe we can come up with some excuse for the people here to camp down the mountain for a little while, so we can look at the Temple by ourselves. You can keep your secret, and I can help my nephew do what he can to restore his honor."

The Mechanist was relieved and grateful that the Dragon of the West did _not_ live up to his fearsome reputation. He was also perplexed by the idea of a boy so young needing to restore his honor. He did not ask what had happened--it was probably some Fire Nation thing that he wouldn't understand anyway. "We should be able to do that, yes."

"Well, I find that tea always helps me think more clearly."

"Tea, yes! Do you like lousewort tea, General?"

"I have never had lousewort tea."

"It's a flower that grows only on the lower slopes of these mountains. Don't let the name mislead you--it's quite tasty."

General Iroh smiled broadly. "Well, I'm glad we came here. I thought that a man of my age who has traveled the world would have tasted every kind of tea, but it seems there are still new teas to discover."

"There's always something new to discover, or to invent," the Mechanist replied.

The General chuckled. "That attitude is the secret to living to be old, is it not?"

The Mechanist didn't answer, because he suddenly had a new idea: a self-brewing teapot.


End file.
